Things couldn’t have possibly gone worse for the Los Angeles Lakers during their trip to Oklahoma. JJ Redick‘s team got utterly exposed, losing by 43 points in embarrassing fashion to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The loss showed the team might be far off from putting together a deep run in the playoffs, which are getting very close.
To pour salt in that wound, the Lakers watched as MVP candidate Luka Doncic left the game with a hamstring strain. As confirmed by multiple reports on Friday, Doncic is set to miss an extended period of time. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Doncic’s injury is a Grade 2 strain, and it’s set to have him out “indefinitely“.
Luka Doncic has no timetable for return from hamstring injury, with playoffs in jeopardy
Doncic is certain to miss the rest of the regular season. After that, no one is quite sure when he will be able to return from the injury. Sports injury analyst Jesse Morse posted a possible timetable for Doncic following the news, with the best case scenario being a return in three weeks. But 4-6 weeks is a more realistic expectation.
Given that the NBA Playoffs begin on April 18, Doncic will be hard-pressed to make it back in time for the first round; at least for the first few games. The Lakers are currently the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, and would be slated to face off against the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves.
Without Doncic, the Lakers would need LeBron James and Austin Reaves to step up even more than they already have this season. Keeping up with Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle‘s scoring pace would be difficult without Doncic.
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